Iran’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year starting 21 March will decrease the country’s dependence on oil revenues amid Western sanctions against its energy sector, according to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  

The draft budget will be handed to Iran’s Majlis parliament on 27 February, the president told local broadcaster IRIB.

Ahmadinejad said the country needs to work towards increasing its non-oil revenues, adding that non-oil exports and technical engineering services will reach $75bn in the next calendar year.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that Iran lost more than $40bn in export revenues in 2012, amounting to about $3.4bn a month, as US-backed sanctions prevent the government receiving payments for oil shipments.